Opinion: I saw marijuana stop 300 seizures a week in a little girl named Charlotte

I am an advocate for medical marijuana in the state of Pennsylvania. I didn't start out that way. If you would have told me three years ago that I would be fighting for the chance to get my teenage son marijuana, I would have called you crazy.

But that was before I saw marijuana stop 300 seizures a week in a little girl named Charlotte. Needless to say, as the mother of a child with intractable epilepsy and autism, this made me sit up and take notice. For the last year and a half, I have done a lot of research into this amazing plant and what I have found has astounded me.

The Morning Call on Nov. 12 published a Your View by Anastasia Giacoumopoulos, "In medical marijuana discussion, consider drug's side effects." Although the opinion column started to give both sides to this contentious debate, it ended where most articles on this subject do — discussing the perils of recreational use of marijuana while ignoring the possible benefits for medical use.

First, let's note that marijuana has the ability to create addiction in certain users. Studies have shown that it has an addiction rate of 9 percent. However, what is lacking in this discussion is some much-needed perspective. Marijuana is the most used illicit drug on the planet. Even with that dubious honor, roughly 90 percent of people do not become addicted to it. Let's look at the addiction rate of some other substances in comparison, as noted in a research paper published in 1994 in Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology: Alcohol has an addiction rate of 15 percent, cocaine is 17 percent, and heroin is 23 percent.

Is it fair to discuss the addictive potential of marijuana without discussing the addictive properties of medicines that doctors already routinely prescribe? Treatment for addiction to drugs like Valium, Xanax and Klonopin rose 570 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, but we do not stop prescribing these medications for people who need them.

Today, addiction to pain killers such as OxyContin and Vicodin have led to the greatest increase in heroin use this state has ever seen. Is that a reason to stop selling them to people in severe pain?

Ms. Giacoumopoulos refers to the risk of psychoses like schizophrenia. Cannabinoids in marijuana have never been proven to cause schizophrenia. Temporary psychosis with a high from THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) in the plants, yes. But schizophrenia, no. As a matter of fact, German studies have shown that cannabinoid is as effective as current pharmaceutical anti psychotics in treating schizophrenia but with fewer side effects.

Further, Dr. Lester Grinspoon, a psychiatrist and associate professor emeritus of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, debunked this myth long ago by showing that even though marijuana use has increased every year, the diagnosis of schizophrenia never increases and still remains a steady 1 percent of the population.

While THC is the most psychoactive part of the marijuana plant, it is also interesting to note that what most detractors think is the most dangerous part of the plant is actually already made into a Food and Drug Administration-approved medication named Marinol. As Marinol is pure THC, it is good for nausea caused by chemotherapy treatments but is not used for those with seizure disorders — thus the reason that not all patients can benefit from it.

As all medical treatment must be weighed with risk and benefit in mind, the next logical question is: Does marijuana have any legitimate medical benefit? Enough to justify any risk? To answer those questions, one needs to look no further than patent No. 6630507, held by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, that says cannabinoids from the plant cannabis sativa have antioxidant properties and are neuroprotective. It even suggests using these cannabinoids in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, stroke damage, Parkinson's disease and autoimmune disorders.

State Sens. Daylin Leach and Mike Folmer will reintroduce a bill in January to allow marijuana to be used for medical uses. My sincerest hope is that this bill goes through so cannabis can start healing patients who have exhausted all other medical options. Please don't let this bill die because of ignorance.

Deena Kenney of Bethlehem is an ambassador for Campaign for Compassion, a grass-roots organization started by mothers of epileptic children in August 2013 to educate and advocate for medical use of cannabis. For more information, please visit campaign4compassion.com.